


Twenty-Three

by Kalloway



Category: Gundam SEED Astray
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 17:02:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4969087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ghina is given three young men and decides to keep them close.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty-Three

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taichara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taichara/gifts).



Ghina tapped his fingers slowly on the conference table, only half-listening to Azrael drone on in his miserable, self-important tone. Honestly, if he'd known Azrael was this insufferable, Ghina would have offered his services to the PLANTs instead. They couldn't possibly be any worse and even with OMNI's recent jumps in technology, which were of course due to his own plotting, ZAFT still had a decent advantage. 

Finally, the meeting was over. Ghina had taken a handful of notes but mostly tapped his fingers and sent messages to his sister about mobile suits, future plans, and places he wished he was including a restaurant he'd all but forgotten about until he started really ignoring Azrael. 

She hadn't responded to a single message which suggested that either time zones or space lag were in play. Well, unless she was just ignoring him. 

"Oh, 'Commander' Sahaku, do stick around for just a moment," Azrael said just as Ghina was unfolding himself from his seat. Ghina frowned. He could hear the invisible quotes on his title. A formality - 'Commander' - given for his collaboration with Azrael and OMNI's forces. 

Ghina wasn't quite ready to sit again. Instead he stretched and set his tablet computer face-down on the conference table. The rest of the assembled group, mostly high-ranking officers, though there were a few suits, funneled out and finally, it was just the two of them. 

"I just want you to know that I've managed to fulfill my end of our little bargain, with a bonus." Azrael smiled and flipped on the communication link on his own computer. He glanced down and spoke to whichever of his assistants he'd contacted. "We're ready. Send them in."

Ghina frowned again. Their deal was for mobile suits. Not for anything else. New, prototype mobile suits made with data that had been altered and expanded but still based on the hard work of his own Erica Simmons. 

He briefly wondered if Erica would like the prototype machines - her reactions were always a little surprising. But she was brilliant and a good employee. She listened to him and did her best for him. In exchange she had certain freedoms and certain confidences kept very, very tightly. 

Before he could say anything, though, the conference room door opened and three young men filed in, each in a crisp blue OMNI Enforcer uniform. Ghina swallowed hard and stared - they were identical. Triplets? Or...

"For you," Azrael commented. "They're kind of on the quiet side, but they'll be good, obedient pilots for your new mobile suits."

"They're..." Ghina wasn't entirely sure, actually. Coordinators? Was Azrael giving him... people like they were spare parts?

"Coordinators, yes," Azrael confirmed with a little flip of his hand. "But don't worry - these are special Coordinators. They can't hurt Naturals and they have to obey whatever a Natural wants them to do. Isn't it great?"

Ghina looked for some sort of recognition of their own situation in the three sets of pale eyes staring at him but there was none. 

Azrael rambled on, apparently disgustingly proud of the research done to create and then destroy these young men. Ghina reminded himself that eventually, once he'd fulfilled his end of the bargain, there wouldn't be anything keeping him from putting a bullet in Azrael's head. If he had to, he could even make it look like an accident. But he needed OMNI in his back pocket at the moment more than he needed to kill Azrael. Unfortunately. 

"So do what you want with them," Azrael concluded. 

Ghina could not get himself or those boys out of the room fast enough.

~*~

That evening was spent going over specs and test data for his new mobile suits, which was something Ghina rather enjoyed. He'd spent the last few years of his life overseeing various mobile weaponry projects, both for Orb and for OMNI, after all. 

There wasn't anything in the small hangar to use as a proper desk, which meant Ghina was sitting on a metal crate with faded markings while he read. OMNI had made some interesting decisions with these prototypes - they suggested a far longer war considering their specialties. The Sword Calamity was a striking ground-combat melee machine, though Ghina could see where it could be easily outfitted for use in space. Already, Ghina had a few ideas what its anti-ship swords could be used against-- Who they could be used against. 

The Forbidden Blue was equally interesting and a bit of a surprise, though Ghina knew ZAFT had aquatic mobile suits at their disposal. The Blue was, at least, far less ugly than the ZAFT machines. Ghina just couldn't see much use in it unless the war was truly going to drag on, and he had no intentions of letting it drag on. Firm, swift strikes when the time was right and ZAFT would be crushed, then the Earth Alliance. 

The world would be his. His and Mina's, the way it should be. 

It wasn't until he started digging through the data for the Raider Full Spec, designed for atmospheric combat, that Ghina noticed a strange listing in a section on optional equipment. Here, he found the basic data for Thirteen Socius. And as he read, he was horrified all over again.

~*~

Victoria had gone well, which was enough of a feather in Ghina's cap to lessen some of the overwhelming annoyance of not having successfully slaughtered the Athha girl. But she would die. That damned mercenary who'd stolen the P03 would die, too. And Erica Simmons, who had betrayed him... He'd done everything for her! She'd been so loyal and yet she'd betrayed him without a second thought. 

Ghina clenched his fists and his teeth and tried desperately to be more interested in his sister and the factory techs who were currently combing over the three prototype mobile suits. It was good to be back at Ame-no-Mihashira, at least. The army of M1A Astrays currently taking shape was worth celebrating...

He didn't care much for the little victories, though. Not when the big ones escaped him. Mina seemed more patient, more... scheming. At least she'd never betray him. Ghina knew he could always count on her love and support. 

Mina had accepted the Socius - Four, Six, and Thirteen - without hesitation and seemingly without extended interest, though more than once Ghina had caught her asking Four if he knew how to dance, or Six if he liked the sea and could swim, or Thirteen what sort of tea he drank. It was a comfort, in a strange way. The blank spaces in their numbering offered more questions than Ghina wanted to know the answers to... Though if the missing numbers were anywhere as skilled as these three, he wasn't sure he had to worry about them surviving combat, at least. 

"Lord Rondo?" 

Ghina nearly jumped; he'd been so deep in his thoughts while staring down at the prototypes - and Gold Frame - that he hadn't noticed Six approaching. 

"What is it?" Ghina questioned. He'd been relieved to discover the Socius were smart and capable of taking care of themselves when not working under orders. They didn't seem to have any interests or hobbies, though he did suspect Thirteen liked tea and that was as decent a start as any. 

"A couple of the technicians asked if you could come down and answer their questions," Six explained in his soft monotone. "If you aren't available, then--"

Ghina waved a hand. "It's fine. Come along."

Six nodded. Eventually, Ghina thought, he might be able to get one of them to walk beside him, instead of trailing along like fuzzy blue ducklings. 

There would be time, though. Once ZAFT was dealt with, and the Athha girl and Erica and that mercenary. Once the Earth Alliance was toppled and he'd put a bullet in Azrael's skull... 

Ghina glanced back at Six and smiled. "Your Forbidden Blue won't be a good fit in space. We'll pick out an M1A for you. My sister can show you how it works."

There seemed to almost be a flicker of surprise on Six's normally-expressionless face, but it was gone before Ghina was sure. 

"You're going to be with us for a long time," Ghina continued. "There's a lot to do, so you'll need it."

Six nodded and Ghina hoped he'd made his point. He turned back towards the stairs down from the observation balcony and started down to where the hum and grind of the factory nearly drowned out the softest of sounds--

"Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Possibly a few timeline contradictions for the sake of narrative, but yay more Ghina?


End file.
